Chapter 30: Reflections of the Past


    <hr>


    The Weight of a Name


    Axel sat alone on the rooftop of Helix Academy, staring out over the darkened city skyline.


    His mind was racing.


    Every person who went through this disappeared.


    Jace’s words echoed in his skull, tangling with the image from the files—a fighter like him, a Cipher Beast like Tempo, and then… nothing.


    Gone.


    Erased.


    Axel clenched his fists. Why him? Why now?


    Had it always been leading to this?


    Or had something changed?


    The wind was cold, biting against his skin.


    He barely noticed.


    Because for the first time in years, his mind drifted back.


    Back to a time when the world had been much smaller.


    Back to a time when he had been just Axel Mercer, the loner with no place to belong.


    <hr>


    Flashback: The Boy Who Kept to Himself


    Axel had never been like other kids.


    Even before Helix Academy.


    Even before Cipher Beasts.


    Even before the tournaments.


    He had always been… different.


    Not in the way that made people admire him. Not in the way that made him stand out.


    But in the way that made him invisible.


    He was the kid who sat in the corner of the classroom, sketching battle strategies in the margins of his notebook instead of talking to people.


    The one who never raised his hand in class, even when he knew the answer.


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    The one who would rather sit under a tree with a book on combat theory than waste time making friends.


    People mistook it for arrogance.


    It wasn’t.


    Axel just… didn’t know how to connect.


    The other kids talked about family trips, favorite sports teams, their Cipher Beast dreams.


    Axel had none of that.


    No parents. No stories.


    Just books, theories, numbers.


    And an empty apartment that never quite felt like home.


    <hr>


    Flashback: The First Companion


    The day Axel received his Cipher Beast should have been the happiest moment of his life.


    For every student, the Rite of Awakening was their first step into the world of battle.


    For most?


    It was the moment they found their lifelong partner.


    Axel remembered standing in that dimly lit hall, surrounded by other kids his age, watching as one by one, they reached into the Summoning Rift and pulled out creatures of power.


    A boy next to him had drawn a Steel Drake—its armored form glistening under the neon lights.


    A girl further down had gotten a Pyrestorm Falcon, flames flickering along its wings.


    And then—Axel’s turn.


    His heart pounded.


    Not out of excitement.


    Out of fear.


    Because even then—he knew he wasn’t like them.


    He reached into the rift.


    A pulse of energy.


    And then—


    A monkey.


    Small.


    Scruffy.


    Eyes too sharp, too knowing.


    Tempo.


    The room had gone silent.


    Then, laughter.


    <blockquote>


    "That’s it? You got a monkey?"


    </blockquote>


    <blockquote>


    "What kind of battle partner is that?"


    </blockquote>


    Axel had stared at Tempo.


    Tempo had stared right back.


    And then, very deliberately, flipped off the entire room.


    Axel had felt something unfamiliar bloom in his chest.


    Something dangerously close to amusement.


    Maybe he wasn’t alone after all.


    <hr>


    Back to the Present


    Axel let out a slow breath, the memory fading.


    Tempo was still here.


    Still with him.


    Still evolving alongside him.


    But that was the problem, wasn’t it?


    His Cipher Beast wasn’t normal.


    Neither was he.


    And the last person who had gone through this?


    They had disappeared.


    Axel leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, staring at his hands.


    Had this been his fate from the beginning?


    Had he been meant to vanish, just like the others?


    No.


    Axel clenched his fists.


    That wasn’t how this was going to end.


    He wasn’t a footnote in someone else’s history.


    And if something was coming for him?


    Then he’d be ready.


    Tempo, who had been sitting silently beside him, finally spoke.


    “You always this dramatic when you think?”


    Axel snorted. “Shut up.”


    Tempo smirked. “Nah. Not when you’re actually opening up for once.”


    Axel shook his head. “I’m not—”


    Tempo strummed a single chord.


    Low. Resonant.


    Something in it felt… understanding.


    “You were alone a long time, weren’t you?” Tempo said, eyes watching him carefully.


    Axel didn’t answer.


    He didn’t have to.


    Tempo sighed. “Well, you’re not alone now.”


    Axel exhaled. “Yeah.”


    Tempo flicked his tail. “Say it like you mean it.”


    Axel grinned. “I do, idiot.”


    Tempo smirked. “Better.”


    The night stretched on, the city below glowing like a sea of stars.


    And for the first time in a long time—


    Axel didn’t feel like he was staring into the abyss alone.